First Word Records is very proud to bring you the 10th anniversary edition of Tall Black Guy's debut LP '8 Miles to Moenart'! It includes two brand new jazz interpretations ('From Home To Work, And Back' and 'Running The Motor'), recorded with a live band, as well as a new intro cut ('Black Detroit'), and an alternative mix of the single 'Mon Amie De'troit', previously only available on 7" vinyl. The original vinyl LP release was a one-time limited edition pressing; this being the first time this project has been available on wax since then, and also includes entirely new artwork and photography. From humble origins in Detroit, raised on a healthy diet of Motown, jazz and hip hop, Terrel Wallace (aka Tall Black Guy) has become a standard bearer for the hip hop beats scene. Through a steady stream of soulful productions filled with incredibly clever sample flips and deft production chops, he has won fans across the world, including Gilles Peterson, Benji B, Don Letts, Lefto, Tom Ravenscroft, Lord Finesse, Huey Morgan, Anthony Valadez and countless others, along with sessions for Boiler Room and more. '8 Miles To Moenart' literally brought Tall Black Guy full circle, and proceeds to do so once again. Detroit was where he started making music, and it's to his hometown he took inspiration for this debut album. Taking in low-slung hip hop, downtempo house and jazz-tinged street soul, it's a record of rare focus. It encapsulated the musical heritage of Detroit, through the looking glass of Tall Black Guy's own signature sound. More

First Word Records is proud to bring you 'The Making of Silk', the brand new album from Allysha Joy. Allysha Joy is a deeply-expressive singer, songwriter, producer & keys player hailing from Naarm (Melbourne), known for both her solo work and as front woman for 30/70. A uniquely-talented artist, her husky soulful voice, formidable Fender Rhodes prowess and raw poeticism has garnered legions of attentive fans the world over. As an integral performer in the modern day jazz-soul scene, previous support has included selectors Gilles Peterson & Jamz Supernova (BBC 6 Music), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), China Moses (Jazz FM) & Laurent Garnier (PBB France), along with stations such as NTS, Lot Radio, KEXP & KCRW, and publications including OkayPlayer, Dazed and The Vinyl Factory. Along with a recent foray into the USA market with a string of successful shows, Allysha Joy has performed alongside acts such as Snarky Puppy, PJ Morton, The Teskey Brothers, Kokoroko and Children of Zeus, to name a few. More

First Word Records is proud to bring you 'Resonance'; a full-length album from Essa & Pitch 92. A lyricist, lawyer and a Londoner, Essa initially released music under the name Yungun in the early noughties, in the midst of UK hip hop's own "golden era". He earned praise from artists such as Nas and Mark Ronson, and performed and recorded with such luminaries as De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, Guru, Slum Village and Pharoahe Monch. His classic debut album 'The Essance' originally dropped whilst he was at law school, 20 years ago (which was recently given a full re-issue on First Word). This was followed with a collaborative album with DJ Mr Thing ('Grown Man Business'), then some years later with 'The Misadventures of a Middle Man' in 2014. Essa also released a track on Juneteenth 2020 entitled 'Justice', as a powerful reaction to George Floyd and the BLM movement. It saw support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, and raised money for an assortment of access-to-justice organisations. Joining Essa on the boards throughout this new project is acclaimed producer and DJ, Pitch 92. Born in Dublin in 1992, Pitch grew up in Germany & Switzerland, where the sounds of Madlib & Dilla fired up his neurons. Under the encouragement of friends ASM, he began experimenting with an MPC at the ripe old age of 12. He relocated to the UK in the late noughties, where he was quickly engulfed into the Manchester hip hop scene, becoming a longtime member of The Mouse Outfit, touring across Europe and featuring heavily on their first two albums. Since going solo in 2017, he's released full hip hop & soul album projects with Iyamah, Jerome Thomas (Melting Pot), Verb T (High Focus), Confucius MC (HHV), Illaman (Potent Funk) and MC DRS (Space Cadet), as well as two solo albums ('Intervals' & '3rd Culture') and production work for artists such as Ocean Wisdom, Jehst, Foreign Beggars, The Four Owls and First Word family, Ruby Wood and Tyler Daley (Children of Zeus), to name just a few! This new project from the duo is co-produced, mixed and mastered by Viva Cee, an extraordinarily versatile up and coming writer/producer, known for fusing international sounds with contemporary black music styles. Across the 13-tracks, we have the posse track 'HeavyweightS', which features the likes of Doc Brown, Klashnekoff, Kyza, Tony D & Reveal amongst others. There are a bunch of additional features too, including West London legend King Kashmere on 'Sick', multi-talented Nottingham MC Karizz (formerly Karizma) on 'All For The Love' and 'Back Around', and several appearances from Brotherman. The album exudes true-skool quality from beginning to end, encompassing soulful, jazzy boom bap throughout, from the opening title track, to the reflective single 'Right Now', the uptempo bounce of 'That's The One'. with a sprinkle of skippier double-time flavours on 'Almost There' and 'Seasoned', all seamlessly sequenced. More

First Word Records is proud to bring you a double AA side remix single from Takuya Kuroda, featuring brand new mixes from Waajeed and Kaidi Tatham. Takuya Kuroda is a Kobe-born, Brooklyn-based trumpeter and musician, who was also a longtime player for Akoya Afrobeat as well as DJ Premier's BADDER band. Initially playing on the Japanese circuit with his trombonist brother, Takuya went on to relocate to New York City, where he has largely remained to this day, becoming a prominent player in the jazz scene, establishing a devoted fan base with jazz heads across the globe.Firstly we head to Detroit, with Waajeed's Hi-Tech Jazz remix of 'Choy Soda'. A pioneer in the worlds of house and hip hop alike, Waajeed's career is like no other. From his roots designing sleeves for Slum Village, to founding Platinum Pied Pipers, to running record labels, DJing and working with a ton of luminaries himself, Waajeed carries the spirit of his hometown in everything he does. This mix carries on the flavours he brought to the world on his 'Memoirs of Hi-Tech Jazz' album: bumpin' broken-beat tinged jackin' house music, this is pure heads-down music to groove to. On the flip, First Word family, Kaidi Tatham takes on 'Dead End Dance'. Kaidi is a deeply-prolific, hugely-revered Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist based in Belfast. One of the original pioneers of the broken beat sound, he's worked with a ton of legends over the years, including Amy Winehouse, Soul II Soul, Mulatu Astatke and Leroy Burgess, to most recently on various projects with DJ Jazzy Jeff. He stays true to the original vibe and tempo of the track, adding a phat synth bass to the mix, before switching to an uptempo shuffle midway, in his own inimitable style & fashion. More

First Word Records is very proud to bring you a brand new 11-track album from Quiet Dawn, one called 'Celebrate'. French multi-instrumentalist Quiet Dawn has been an integral part of the First Word family for a full decade now. His diverse catalogue has included organic ambient-jazz (2018's 'Human Being - The Short Story Of The Reed'), Dilla-esque instrumental beats (2023's 'Simple' beat tape), head nod Hip Hop (the 2015 debut album 'The First Day') and broken beat (2022's 'Movements' EP). It's the latter project that this new project is the most obvious successor to, which he produced directly afterwards. This new album from Quiet Dawn (real name Will Galland) takes on an array of broken beat flavours and features a few luminaries from that scene along the way, including the legendary Bembe Segue (on the smooth soulful grooves of 'All Around'), LyricL (dropping bars on the lively title track 'Celebrate') and Oliver Night from the CoOp Presents crew (on 'Follow Your Instincts' and single 'Lost From Life'). Elsewhere there's uplifting jazz samba-tinged vibes (on 'It's All About Freedom' & 'He Is Lion'), a sprinkle of downtempo boom bap ('Flow' & 'See The Good'), and an assortment of instrumental bruk riddims with squelchy synths, sweet rhodes, skippy percussion & funked-up basslines. Quiet Dawn once again effortlessly combines the organic with the electronic. The whole piece exudes positivity and good times. More

First Word Records is very proud to present 'The Liminality of Her', a brand new 10-track album from their newest signing, Amanda Whiting; a highly-acclaimed Welsh harpist & composer.

A virtuoso in her field, this classically trained musician has quickly established herself as an essential player in the UK jazz scene, carving her own unique sound, following on from the paths forged by Ashby and Coltrane.

Amanda recently joined the First Word label roster, via a collaborative project with Don Leisure, 'Beyond The Midnight Sun', as well as a feature on his Welsh Music Prize nominated project 'Shaboo Strikes Back'.

She's previously toured extensively with her own band, as well as with Matthew Halsall, Rebecca Vasmant, DJ Yoda and Chip Wickham (who also features on this new project), whilst previously releasing three solo albums on Jazzman Records, and a remix project for Scrimshire's Albert's Favourites imprint. Along the way, there's been a nomination for 'Instrumentalist of the Year' from Jazz FM and she's garnered the support of DJs such as Radio 2's Jamie Cullum ("highly recommended") and BBC 6Music's Cerys Matthews ("my highlight of the Cheltenham Jazz festival 2023").

This 10-track album exemplifies Amanda's talents as a performer and composer, taking in an array of hypnotising sonics from the worlds of jazz; from fusion to spiritual and beyond. She is backed with accompaniment from a remarkable set of players in their own right, including Chip Wickham on flute and PEACH. on vocals. A confident display of purposefully blissful compositions that saunter as much as they soothe, whilst being unafraid to lean into some deep uptempo grooves.

Amanda describes the theme of this project as "liminality... that place in between, the transition from one place to another. No longer what it was, yet not what it's going to be.

The harp always presents itself at these moments. It's a sound that causes an emotion. My instrument chose me. It's been with me through every chapter of life. It's how I speak, especially when there are no words.

This album is a rite of passage for "her". A feeling of alchemy, a feeling of liberation. Moments of inner searching, intertwined, waiting but moving forward. Never looking back.

'The Liminality of Her' encompasses the highs and the lows. The nomadic love of freedom and spirituality. It's all so much bigger than you or I…"

From the cinematic, classical fusion of 'After Dark', to the more playful 'Lost in Abstraction', this album invites you to float in a soundscape of liminality...

'The Liminality of Her' is released on vinyl & digital worldwide, March 22nd 2024. More

First Word Records is very proud to welcome Ruby Wood to the label, with her debut solo EP 'Sincerely'. Ruby is a vocalist & songwriter hailing from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Her soulful yet distinctive voice has enabled her to front numerous projects; perhaps best known as lead vocalist of the critically acclaimed Submotion Orchestra, since 2009. She also toured as lead vocalist for Bonobo's live band, for Nubiyan Twist, and with hugely successful 1940's-esque vocal trio, The Sugar Sisters. There have also been features for dance outfits such as GLXY & Franky Wah, additionally to writing & recording for the likes of Krept & Konan, Alfa Mist, Roska, Hemai, Barney Artist and XOA, to name just a few.'Sincerely' is comprised of five tracks, firmly based in the realms of hip hop soul and neo soul sonically, with an unashamedly '90s R&B vibe throughout. Throughout the EP, Ruby's story tells tales of motherhood, relationships, commitment, independence and inspirations. Further collaborations on the set come from vocalist Isaac Malibu (on 'Mr. Unavailable'), wind player Arran Kent (on 'My Favourite Song'), and assistance on a couple of beats from acclaimed hip hop producer, Pitch 92 and San Diego's Martel Howard, along with more Submotion alumni, Danny Templeman, Dom Howard and Bobby Beddoe and the debut performance from Ruby's daughter, Amber!
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First Word Records is very proud to welcome the return of the inimitable Kaidi Tatham, with his 5th album for us, entitled 'The Only Way'. Kaidi Tatham is a legendary multi-instrumentalist born in the Midlands and based in Belfast. Established as one of the original creators of the Broken Beat sound, he is a virtuoso on the keys and a true innovator in sound production. A deeply prolific artist, this is Kaidi's 5th solo album under his own name, following on from 'Don't Rush The Process' (2022), 'An Insight To All Minds' (2021), 'It's A World Before You' (2018), and 'In Search Of Hope' (re-pressed in 2020), all released on First Word, along with several EPs from 2017 onwards. 'The Only Way' is the latest chapter in Kaidi's entirely unique explorations into sound. 11 tracks touching on bruk, funk, jazz, mid-tempo hip hop and hyper-energetic Brazilian flavours, all thrown into a melting pot that's difficult to define, but all containing Kaidi's unmistakable sonic signature. The epic opener 'Reason We're Here' starts the album softly, before switching midway into KT's trademark synth-lead bruk boogie, to set the scene of what's to come. Lead track 'The Only Way' sees the return of Philly MC Uhmeer (Jazzy Jeff's son), his third collab with Kaidi and a timely celebratory track about this thing called Hip Hop, in its 50th year. 'Feels Like I'm On My Own' is a statement within itself, starting off as a jazz-funk jam, before switching to breakneck Brazilian choro, in the only way Kaidi can, with 'It's On' on a similar vein. 'Fricassee' is some heads down dancery business, and there are more guests with Trian Kayhatu appearing on 'Alien @$^%' and Matt Lord on the super energetic album closer 'Not Suffering'. Kaidi Tatham continues to grow on his already impressive catalogue, a body of work that falls within the cracks of jazz and dance music, exemplifying modern British black brilliance; uncompromising, innovative, groundbreaking, intricately sophisticated and deeply funky. His fanbase expands on every release and it's no surprise that that fanbase includes a diverse set of peers such as Madlib ("ahead of his time"), Gilles Peterson ("a key part of an entire movement") and K15 ("a limitless source of inspiration") to name just a few of the many influenced by Kaidi's sound. More

First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome the legendary New Sector Movements to the label, and the first new release from this moniker in 15 years! A 5-track EP for 'These Times', comprised of street soul, hip hop, jazz and bruk-tinged vibes. Founded, headed and produced by DJ & musician IG Culture (CoOp Presents / LCSM), this all-new quasi-group project also features the vocal talents of Allysha Joy, Mike City and Natalie May with additional accompaniment from Wonky Logic, Wayne Francis, Alex Phountzi and the NSM Fusion Starship!An essential EP of cross-genre vibes to resonate cross-generations, New Sector Movements do not ramp. IG Culture and crew proceed to give you what you need for 'These Times'. More

FTakuya Kuroda is a highly respected trumpeter and arranger born in Kobe, Japan and based in New York City. 'Midnight Crisp' is Takuya's seventh studio album, entirely self-produced and following 2020's highly acclaimed 'Fly Moon Die Soon', also released on UK label First Word (winner of the Worldwide Award's Label of the Year in 2019). Consisting of six new tracks, this once again sees Takuya displaying his unique hybrid sound, blending soulful jazz, funk, post-bop, fusion and hip hop.After following the footsteps of his trombonist brother playing in big bands, he relocated to New York to study jazz & contemporary music at The New School in Union Square; a course he graduated from in the mid-noughties. It was here that Takuya met vocalist José James, with whom he worked on the 'Blackmagic' and 'No Beginning No End' projects.Following graduation, Takuya established himself further in the NYC jazz scene, performing with the likes of Akoya Afrobeat and in recent years with DJ Premier's BADDER band. Premier said "The BADDER Band project was put together by my manager, and an agent I've known since the beginning of my Gang Starr career. He said, 'What if you put a band together that revolved around a trumpet player from Japan named Takuya Kuroda? He's got a hip-hop perspective and respect in the jazz field…" More

First Word Records is very proud to welcome Eye Of The High to the label, with this vinyl-only double-dose of Brit Funk magic - 'Seismic Shift' and 'Elevate'. Eye Of The High is a collaborative project headed by Femi Fem and Glen Scott.Femi Fem is a DJ and producer, perhaps best known as being a member of Young Disciples, the iconic '90s band on the Talkin' Loud stable, whose seminal classic album 'Road To Freedom' was shortlisted for a Mercury Music Award. An iconic LP in the canon of UK soul music, this was a huge inspiration for First Word as a label. As a group, the YD's also worked with Loose Ends, Des'ree, IG Culture and many more.Glen Scott is an award-winner producer, multi-instrumentalist and longtime collaborator with Femi since the mid nineties. Together they've worked on productions and remixes for the likes of Mary J Blige, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, D'Influence and The Pasadenas. Meanwhile, Glen's long list of additional productions and accomplished engineer roles include work with artists like Beverley Knight, Craig David, Luis Fonsi and Eric Bibb. Flipside 'Elevate' was previously released digitally-only last Spring, through their own Higher Grade imprint. Four minutes of sheer upliftment, it received love from Gilles Peterson, Lauren Laverne, Trevor Nelson, Jeff Young, Tony Minvielle, Patrick Forge, Grant Nelson, Ross Allen, DJ Spoony, Ashley Beedle, Gordon Mac, Seamus Haji, Ronnie Herel, Dez Parkes, Mickey D, Roy The Roach and numerous other key selectors, subsequently being played across BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2, NTS, Mi-Soul, Jazz FM and many others. This is the first time the original track has been released on vinyl. In Eye of the High's words "living in the midst of cataclysmic upheaval in the world provoked the Eye of the High team to create differently. Emerging out of this process, 'Seismic Shift' is about making great change. It feels appropriate for us to align with First Word Records to release 'Seismic Shift' as a vinyl single, with the ever popular dancers fave 'Elevate'. In the video and artwork, we reference the imagery of WW2 African American soldiers whom, on their return to the USA, sparked the fires of a seismic shift in civil rights activism. We are part of a new tide in positivity." More

First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome back Kaidi Tatham, with a brand new 12-track album entitled 'Don't Rush The Process'.This is Kaidi's 4th solo album under his own name, following on from 'An Insight To All Minds' (2021), 'It's A World Before You' (2018), and 'In Search Of Hope' (re-pressed in 2020), all released on First Word, along with several EPs from 2017 onwards.To bring you up to speed, Kaidi Tatham is a legendary multi-instrumentalist born in the Midlands and based in Belfast. Once dubbed "the UK's Herbie Hancock" by Benji B, he's a virtuoso on the keys and a true innovator in sound production as one of the original creators of the Broken Beat sound. Over the years his musical prowess has blessed numerous projects, recently with the likes of DJ Jazzy Jeff, Andrew Ashong and with longtime accomplice, Dego. This in addition to session and remix work for artists such as Mulatu Astatke, Slum Village, Marcos Valle, Amy Winehouse, Soul II Soul, Nubya Garcia, Rosie Frater-Taylor and Leroy Burgess, along with First Word label mates Eric Lau, Children of Zeus, Allysha Joy and Darkhouse Family. Kaidi is also a revered DJ known for rocking parties globally, whilst his solo catalogue spans tons of EPs and releases for labels such as Dego's 2000 Black, Alex Nut's Eglo Records and Theo Parrish's Sound Signature.This new album 'Don't Rush The Process' opens with an intro of sweet strings on 'Mystery Solved', ahead of lead title track, which is on a mid-tempo boom bap vibe, before switching to a more uptempo boogie vein, with the assistance of The Easy Access Orchestra, who also appear on 'We Chillin' Out', which is on a similar boogie tip. 'All I Need' is some gospel flavoured hip hop, whilst 'Knocknee Donkey' steps things up in a jazz-funk fashion. The second half of the album takes on a very Brazilian flavoured stance, with a set of delicious latin flavoured grooves on 'Any Flavour', 'Runnin' Tru', 'What A Dream' and 'Sooretama', the latter featuring the additional prowess of pianist Robert Mitchell. There's a touch more of the hip hop beats thrown in via 'Funky Fool' and the album closes out in inimitable Kaidi style with a short message: 'Mind Yourself'.A hugely prolific artist, here he adds to an already impressive catalogue, a body of work that falls within the cracks of jazz and dance music, exemplifying modern British black brilliance; uncompromising, innovative, groundbreaking, intricately sophisticated and deeply funky. His fanbase expands on every release and it's no surprise that that fanbase includes a diverse set of peers such as Madlib ("ahead of his time"), Gilles Peterson ("a key part of an entire movement"), K15 ("a limitless source of inspiration") and Kyle Hall. More

First Word Records is pleased to welcome back Souleance with a brand new single for Summer 2022! 'GUILI GUILI' is a double AA side 7" single, with an additional remix by Art Of Tones on the digital version. French slang for "tickle", 'GUILI' is an epic disco-funk piece inspired by the likes of Azymuth, Herbie Hancock and Marcos Valle, but incorporated with Souleance's trademark sounds of fuzzy bass-heavy electronica, synths and samples, giving the track a fresh contemporary twist. Meanwhile, the (digital only) Art Of Tones mix ramps up the disco elements heavily, incorporating some vocals, strings and horn stabs to create some sure fire heat for the summertime. The flipside 'TORO' is a much more tweaked-out, synth-heavy bomb, influenced by artists such as Prince, Parliament and French electronic club music. All tracks mark the evolution of the duo into a full live band, whilst remaining true to their sonic mission of producing music crafted especially for the dancefloor. More

Filipovich is one of a kind. The Belarus-born, Paris-based artist works in a multitude of media - found footage films, painting, silkscreening and performance to name a few. It's her musical output that has caught the attention of late, though, with Filipovich dropping a run of releases in recent years which began with 2021's Magnificat on Time Released Sound. Filipovich takes as much of a novel approach to her music-making as she does with her other artistic endeavours - Magnificat was centred around treated samples of Sergei Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil, and she's also combined classical composition with contemporary electronic techniques on her subsequent drops.For Idealized, Filipovich's debut on Sheffield's Central Processing Unit, she maintains the gothic air which characterised her previous releases and applies it to a record of widescreen contemporary techno joints. These tracks represent something of a gear shift for CPU, a label which has long made its name by delivering top-quality electro and machine-funk jams, but such is the quality of Idealized that these superbly-executed techno productions are sure to win over label fans both old and new.Idealized is very much schooled in the German tradition of minimal/dub techno. Tracks like 'Physical', 'Wave' and 'Dance Minor' all anchor themselves on single, steady drum pulses and delay-drenched single-chord loops. Filipovich generally lets the central idea of these tracks play out across several minutes while introducing increasingly disorientating elements into the rest of the mix - wiccan atmospherics, clashing chords, spiralling delays and so forth. It's an approach at once respectful of Filipovich's predecessors - Basic Channel, Deepchord, Ellen Allien and so on - but also full of idiosyncrasies and individuality.Many of the club cuts here hardwire us into the moody, murky environs of the darkest Berlin Basements. 'Ultra Red' rides forward on a crisp drum machine snap, a menacing burble of bassline and an eerie single-note synth whistle in the upper end of the mix; 'Dance Minor' shows off a bit of KiNK in the brain-bending modular loop that waxes and wanes at its centre; the second-half run from 'Wave' to closer 'Small Cave' travels ever-further out into deep space - the kick drums remain insistent, yet the textural elements are delivered with an edge and flair that evidences Filipovich's ability to think outside the box.Filipovich's unusual methods, and the influence of sound art and electroacoustic composition on her music, are drawn out further when Idealized steps away from the dancefloor. 'Hydra' comes off like a more gothic version of Pole - its central pulse draws from dub techno but never quite settles into a danceable groove, and this beat is combined with the kind of unnerving keyboard work that would make John Carpenter proud. Although closer 'Small Cave' eventually locks into another dark-room techno roller, the opening section of the track delivers a weightless soundscape of bright, tinny chords and a scene-setting field recording.Idealized, the first drop on Central Processing Unit from Paris-based Belarusian Lina Filpovich, broadens the label's horizons with a selection of finely crafted minimal/dub techno joints. More

Rua Sound's sell out Foxy Jangle series returns with a ninth (second-last!) release: a double A-side featuring Bedford hardcore hero Wise & Deadly, and legend of the UK soundsystem scene, Humb. Wise & Deadly offers a cheeky take on a well known free party anthem. Humb goes in heavy on the amens for maxmium dancefloor devastation. More

A vibrant kaleidoscope of sound, colour and emotion, British multi-hyphenate James Alexander Bright's new album 'Cool Cool' is set for release on 26th July via Athens Of The North. A dynamic set of urgent funkers, gentle soul ballads, head-nodders, fuzzy folkers and straight-up disco bangers span 10 songs that soundtrack fertile daydreams, esoteric dancefloors, languorous reflection, and wild excursions in nature and beyond. James' voice, pitched somewhere between Eddie Chacon, Beck and Michael McDonald, takes a confident lead on this new record. Whether tenderly caressing on the title track's beautiful soul minimalism or deployed passionately on boogie machine 'Straight Line'; it's an immediately recognisable signature. Impressive multi-instrumentalism sees him perform on guitar, bass, keys, programming, percussion, production and myriad quirky effects; across song subjects that cover searching for truth, imagining the distant future, teen nostalgia, relaxation exploration, aspirations of freedom, and classic tales of love and romance. More

One of the key 45s in the output of Prince Jazzbo's Ujama label during the digital era of the late 80s - originally reissued via NYC's Deadly Dragon some 15 or so years back - gets a much needed new cut & press via Death Is Not The End's 333 series. The late Earlando Neil aka Early B first started performing on soundsystems in the late 1970s, often appearing with his young apprentice Wild Apache, later known as Super Cat. It was alongside Cat that he is credited as a key driver behind the popularisation of the King Majesty and Killamanjaro stables in the early 1980s, following which he had a string of hit records for the likes of Harry J's Sunset imprint, Ossie Thomas' Black Solidarity and Jah Thomas' Midnight Rock label amongst many others. Following a run of stellar LPs in the mid 1980s Early B's output began to wane as the sound of digital production began to take precedence, but not without firing off one the most killer shots ever recorded on a computerized rhythm for Jazzbo's Ujama in 1987. Reportedly the first time around for the hallowed Replay version, Imitator's subject matter takes aim at the new kids on the dancehall block ripping off the veterans, while he simultaneously pays hard-earned dues to the dancehall's foundation deejays such as Jazzbo himself, U-Roy, Big Youth, Dennis Alcapone, King Stitch, Trinity & Dillinger. More

Seattle's own Manatee Commune (aka Grant Eadie) makes his long-awaited return to Bastard Jazz with his fourth album, 'Simultaneity'. Lush and vibrant production is familiar to his previous works, though Eadie has significantly matured in the activation of space and character. A step away from standard songwriting, and a total disassociation from lyrics at all, has made this record closer to the ambient genre than anything Manatee Commune has released, all the while keeping one solid foot in the realm of dance music. 'Simultaneity', as a whole, is an exploration of the collision between texture and time. Captured recordings reminiscent of wind in wheatgrass, soft rain showers in the open plains, and cascading beach sand wash over the mix, splashing into warm drones and ascending melodies that cleanly syncopate against a steady rhythm. Though decidedly electronic at times, a raw human element is ever-present in the form of a vocal motif: just tiny moments of a loving voice lost in a sea of reverberation. The album is a noticeably positive evolution from previous works. All nine tracks depict a calmness and subtlety in musicianship, relying primarily on tenuous snippets of live instrumentation and synthesis that hypnotically coil and coalesce with one another. 'Love Tone', the opening track, features Eadie's partner, a small voice memo clipped and expanded into an ethereal vocal melody. A crisp felt piano delivers a complex arpeggiation in 'Mosaic', a warm sonic bath scape reminiscent of Olafur Arnalds or Kiasmos. Simple, undemanding bass lines drive tracks 'Path' and 'Faulted', though their simplicity is contrasted with a variety of patterns that combine to create unique auditory shapes, both building and landing in satisfying climactic movement. The album culminates in the final track, 'Touch Theme', where a block of sound in the form of a broad, open synthetic chord warms the ears, eventually twisting and shifting to rhythmic chunks that shove against a familiar house rhythm. More

In anticipation of Gitkin's upcoming album in October, Wonderwheel drops a cheeky little 7" with two Latin covers from the man himself. The A-Side finds an instrumental Cumbia cover of the eternal 80s classic by The Human League. Leading with the guitar for the verses, the song chugs along nicely with a faithful interpretation of the original with Simon Moushabeck's accordion leading the chorus. On the flip, Gitkin covers Peru's infamous Grupo Celeste's 1975 classic "Mi Lamento" with friend and collaborator Gabe Case on vocals. Keeping with the Tropical Andean sound of the original, Gitkin's funky, wah wah guitars drive the track set over uptempo, cumbia inspired drums while Case's melodic vocals float on top. Two fun, happy tunes to light up dancefloors this summer! More

The legendary Kool Keith from Ultramagnetic MCs drops this Boombap killer Heavyweights on limited edition 7" Vinyl & Digital, with the Instrumental on the B side! Produced by Jazz T & Dr Zygote, Cuts by Jazz T and artwork by Matt Littler. More